I never thought I would get to write that as a headline – but that’s exactly what happened in Chennai this month! Working in the scientific services group, one of our roles is to support claims, demonstrations and approve marketing communications for the brands we support. Demonstrations are a really powerful tool in communicating with our consumer. It’s easy to be sceptical about claims made in TV advertising, it’s a lot harder to disregard when you see it with your own eyes!

This month marketing organised a “Great stain-off” which included use of a 20foot cloth, lots of messy stains and numerous packs of Vanish! We invited residents to throw wine, iodine, ketchup, juices, tea and coffee at 4 targets on our 20ft cloth. 3 stains successfully within the target won residents a prize – I’m sure you can guess what that was !

After a messy hour, the yellow cloth was looking a bit worse for wear and it was definitely time to bring out the Vanish. Taking half the cloth for washing, residents looked on as Vanish got to work. Everyone was intrigued by the oxygen action you could see and had lots of burning questions. The Grande finale was revealed when washing was complete and the cloth was hung next to its messy counterpart.

I think the results speak for themselves!

 Over the past few days, my team and I were in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a marketing research project.  We were able to head out into the field for a truly amazing experience.  Unlike the usual analysis done in the office, our project was conducted at The Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  We all hiked through the Appalachian Trail and up to Clingman’s Dome (the highest point on the trail).  It was great to really feel the essence of the park, and truly understand why our concept would be successful.  The mountains were beautiful and the air was clean and refreshing.  It was surprising to learn that the reason they’re called the Smoky’s is because of air pollution!

Also, this is the #1 most visited National Parks in the United States.   At one point during our tour of the mountain, we could look to our right and see Tennessee, and to our left, North Carolina.  This trip was not only a great way to conduct research; it was also a good team building activity.  There were discussions on consumer insights, industry trends and long term growth strategies.  We also brainstormed on ways we can continue to grow our business.  This just further reinforced the idea that not all marketing research is done in the office and that it can be fun, exciting and unique, just like RB!  I’ll leave you with 5 quick facts about the Smoky Mountains. Please post a response on any of the cool places you’ve been to around the world!

5 Facts about the Smoky Mountain Nation Park

1. Clingmans Dome is also the third highest mountain East of the Mississippi behind Mount Craig (6,647 feet / 2037 metres) and Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet / 2037 metres).

2. With approximately 9-10 million visitors annually, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also the most visited national park in the United States. (In contrast, Grand Canyons National Park receives less than 5 million visitors annually)

3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park encompasses approximately 244,000 acres in Tennessee and 276,000 acres in North Carolina for a total of 520,000 acres or more than 800 square miles.

4. In addition to the Appalachian Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park features more than 850 miles of hiking trails.

5. The raspberries and blackberries found throughout the trails  are absolutely delicious (I found this out myself)

Source: www.Escapetothesmokies.com

It really goes to show if you put in the effort, it will pay off in the end.

Recently, the Australian marketing team presented the 2012 Brand Plan. Brand Plan – those 2 evil words that would send a shiver down the spine of every marketer. They will mean longer hours, never-ending workload, extreme consumption of chocolate, lollies, pizza. But it’s not all that bad.

This year was my first experience with the dreaded “Brand Plan” and I am happy to say that I did survive! Sure, I worked some late nights and did up my consumption of all things junk food, but I also got to experience the development and planning of our core business – our brands. It really was a great learning process and provided a great platform to understand the drivers of every brand at RB. And working on Dettol, there is always something exciting happening, so this process also meant working up some great initiatives for 2012 – from new product development to our new and improved schools program. It also meant that as a graduate, I was able to contribute my ideas towards furthering our growth and success in 2012, something that I am really excited to see happen!

After all our hours of hard work and stress, it was time to have some fun! Our post-brand plan celebration consisted of a delicious 3 course lunch at a cool inner-city bar, followed by a team building cocktail making course at the Hilton Hotel. It was a great setting for the team to let their hair down after working hard during the previous 3 months, and a great opportunity to chat to and get to know the wider marketing team. At the end of the cocktail class, we were put into teams and had to re-create the cocktail recipes that we had just been taught. We were judged on speed, taste and presentation. I am very happy to say that my team won (and get to return to the venue to spend our gift voucher =D ).

There is now rest for the wicked, however, so we are now straight back to work – putting our plans into action! I can’t wait to put my learning into action the second time around. 2012 is going to be a very interesting year!

If you have read anything about RB then you’ll know by now that our core values are essential to how our business is so successful. Since relocating to the Korean business I have seen some examples of how these core values are displayed and used to their fullest. The RB Iksan factory, based on the East of Korea has one motto which is displayed proudly throughout the building – ‘One team, one heart’. These four simple words (well three if you don’t count the one twice!) sum up all four of our core values perfectly.

To have a successful business you need teamwork, cooperation, support and shared knowledge. This is where the ‘one team’ comes into play, displaying shared Team Spirit and consequently Achievement. The sense of one team is constantly strengthened with frequent team meals and socials, such as the Kareoke evening I attended after a meeting in the Seoul office last week (that’s me attempting to sing in the photo!).

The second part of the motto, ‘one heart’ describes a vision that each and every individual needs passion, dedication, Ownership and Entrepreneurship to achieve that extra edge which turns a good product into a great one. One heart beautifully describes the close working relationship between the RB employees not only within supply but throughout all our functions.

It’s when this synergy of one team and one heart come together that provides the key to achieving all four core values. Despite this English phrase being a second language to most of the team here, they all understand the importance and meaning of this simple phrase and this focus helps them achieve the level of success which RB is so proud of.

It’s a little quiet in the office today with everyone a little weary and worn out from the last few days of beaches, parties, celebrations, spa’s … oh and work presentations and conference. Yep, it’s that time again, the Australian Conference 2010!

We left Sydney bound for the Crowne Plaza, Terrigal early Monday morning, had a bite to eat and then got stuck into a bit of team building – what better activity than Bare Foot Bowls! Whilst I wasn’t able to bring my knowledge and expertise of the game to the table much (I can’t say bowling is my forte!), everyone still managed to have a fabulous time catching up, having a drink and using all their energy to get the ball closer than any of their teammates could – Reckitt Benckiser competitive? Never!

The next day was Conference Day, whereby each respective brand and account team presented updates to the business regarding strategies and new product developments for 2011, new TVC’s and advertising as well as results to date and plans to reach their balance to go targets. As a newbie in the Marketing department, it was really interesting to understand the differences between different brand approaches and idea generation – particularly the disparity of issues faced between Household and Health & Personal Care categories.

That night, 1920’s flappers, gangsters, and even Biggles, concentrated the building as we had our themed 1920’s party night. A fun night of Black Jack, Roulette, dancing and celebrating had by all.

Following our morning of presentations, everybody participated in an interactive group activity named “The Photography Challenge”. This task was a great opportunity for people in all different departments (Marketing, Sales, Supply, Regulatories, Finance) to work and compete together and assist each other with challenges such as being creative in a very short timeline (definitely a challenge that arises in all of our day to day workings in the office!). At the end of this activity, I presented my team’s photography to the business and outlined the creative and artistic rationale behind each image – our team managed to come out of top for this competition … must have been all that birthday energy!

Our next conference day (and my birthday, I might add!) consisted of an informative presentation on some potential new additions to the RB portfolio – Scholl Footwear (of which the ladies might recognize as the infamous “Party Feet Gel Cushions”), as well as Durex (I don’t really need to detail this one…!).

These additions to the portfolio would generate many new business challenges and opportunities for the RB Australia business, as distribution channels for these ranges expand outside the general Pharmacy and Grocery networks and into unknown territory such as fashion outlets, convenience stores and bars/nightclubs.

Another interesting challenge that we were given this day was the “Million Dollar Challenge” in which we were again split into cross-functional teams and tested with the question, “What would you do with $1mm?”. Each team were given a certain brand challenge (increase Pine O Cleen wipes penetration in the market, enhance consumption of Vanish in-wash, drive Finish tablets through increasing frequency of dish wash usage and tablet trade-up) in which we had to brainstorm and present 3 key ideas. Our team chose to increase Pine O Cleen wipes penetration mainly through trial and new users, for example alliances with MasterChef, wipes sampling through the new Coles recipe cards in store and partnerships with hospitals for new mothers bounty bags. Although we did not win this challenge, it was really remarkable to see that RB willingly will be supporting the winning team’s ideas on Finish by investing an incremental $1mm into the plan for 2011.

To top off our week at Conference that night was a Black and White Soiree Ball where everyone had the chance to let their hair down and party it up one last time before returning back to the office. We had a fabulous band called the Figaro’s performing Italian Opera music, a beautifully set up ballroom, awards for ‘best dressed’ as well as prizes for winners of competitions throughout the week. A really great end to a fun and enjoyable week away.

And back to the office we are.

Although a little more drained than before we left, definitely refreshed from a good break away – who knows where to next? I think we’ll push for New York and see how that follows through …